When men dare to question ...

Interesting.

Someone posted the question today on Facebook asking why we do not have an International Men's Day. The response from one woman is that men are not disenfranchised. I disagree with this assertion, men are disenfranchised.

Men are denied the fulfillment of basic physiological needs when they are told they have no right to sexual fulfillment (numerous social policy considerations on that point, alone). They are denied the right of fatherhood when women abort a child to get revenge for some perceived wrong by the man. They are denied the right of fatherhood when a woman demands full custody of their children, then denies his right of visitation, even when the court orders it. The worst cases are when she moves out of state, not even letting the man know where they are.

The financial rights of men are denied when women insist on "renegotiating" child support or alimony payments after the man gets a better job or otherwise becomes successful in life. Men are denied their right to live freely when a woman falsely accuses him of rape or child molestation, ending with him, at very least, spending time in jail trying to prove his innocence. Men are denied their right of free association when women insist on having access to private clubs for men, even though they militarily defend their right to women-only facilities and events. Men are denied the right to free speech and freedom of the press when feminists attack them for even asking questions like the above or gather together to hold meetings to consider such questions.

While some may think men are not disenfranchised, the evidence says otherwise.

Are women oppressed and disenfranchised? In all too many ways, they are. They are underpaid, under-served by the healthcare industry, harassed by even the simplest of bodily functions, particularly if they are breastfeeding a child, and are too frequently discouraged from "men's" work occupations that there is no reason but tradition behind.

The problem as I see it is neither side has ever actually sat down with the other to hammer out an understanding of the issues. Each has always expected the other to bend to their will and needs without question or discussion and this is where our problem is.

Everyone needs to accept that the concept of rights and privileges is a two-way street. Room needs to be made and left for the others of society to have a say and to have their needs met. Just as women need their rights and needs respected and met, men need their rights and needs equally respected and met. Men and women both need to remember that we cannot have children, for example, without each other and that this is a fundamental part of our gender identity.

We need to return to the concepts of ''communal manhood'' and ''communal womanhood'' where our identity was not tied to the size of our bank accounts, how many ''baby mamas'' we got pregnant, or how many people we have beaten up or crushed under our occupational heels. Under communal identity, we should be measuring our maturity by our contribution to society and by the level of personal development we have achieved. Equally, we need to accept and respect the fact that our definitions of ''manhood'' and ''womanhood'' need to be revisited and revised.

Maybe its time we actually started a mature conversation instead of dismissing each other so casually.

A Murdering Stalker's Continuing Revenge

I learned about what I am posting roughly one hour ago, so its going to be a bit sketchy as a lot of the details are still pending. It seems that my eldest nephew's wife was arrested this morning on murder charges relating to the death of her mother in 2008. I'm going to post what details of the event I currently have and will add any corrections as they come to my knowledge.

Before the death of her mother, my niece-in-law had been dating another man. The man exhibited extreme possessiveness that eventually led her to break the relationship off, fearing for her own safety. Three days after she broke off the relationship she awoke in the middle of the night with him standing over her. She screamed, which brought her mother and father running into the room. The man stabbed both of them, killing her mother and seriously wounding her father. She called the police and the manhunt for the killer was on. He was arrested and has spent about three years playing the system with delays and postponements. He recently changed his mind and plead guilty.

Doesn't sound like too bad an ending, until this morning's events. Apparently during his debriefing, her ex-boyfriend suddenly implicated her as having been a part of the murder. Texas Rangers showed up at her work this morning and arrested her in front of her co-workers on charges of capital murder.

My question is, why? All evidence from the original case shows this man is a liar who was stalking an innocent girl and, when jilted by her dumping him, murdered her mother and attempted to murder her father in retaliation. As often as we have seen this scenario in our society, is the prosecutor's office totally incompetent that they can't see through this man's continuing lies? Seems to me he is making a last ditch effort to destroy her life for rejecting him.

Our prayers and support are with her today. We see the truth. I only home the prosecutors office in Texas and any jury she ends up in front of (if it even comes to that) will also see the truth. This girl has already been traumatized with feelings of guilt over her ex-boyfriend murdering her mother. As for her ex-boyfriend, I hope you enjoy general population in prison. They have their own punishment for punk cowards like you.

The one problem in all this is the disappearance of my niece-in-law's father. Sir, if you are reading this (and from this description you probably know I am talking about you), please contact the prosecutor's office as soon as possible. Your daughter needs you now more than ever.

UPDATE 7/5/2012 I've been corrected on one point so far, the second victim in the attack was not her father, but her mother's boyfriend. No one has heard from him apparently in over a year. If you're out there, Sir, please contact the prosecutor's office as soon as possible. Your attacker has again turned his attention on her, accusing her of having been an active participant in her own mother's murder.